February 2, 2012 4:45pm ESTFebruary 2, 2012 3:19pm ESTDirk Nowitzki’s game is off, but he and the rest of the Mavs organization say they’re not worried.

Staff report

Published on Feb. 2, 2012

Feb. 2, 2012

Dirk Nowitzki is well off the form that carried the Mavericks to the NBA title last season. He doesn’t even look like the same player.

The Mavericks decided to keep Nowitzki on the sidelines for four games this season to give him a chance to work on his conditioning and rest his sore right knee. But after a 2-for-15 shooting performance in Wednesday night’s loss to the Thunder, Nowitzki said, per the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, “The swelling is gone, so I think that was the major thing for the first month dealing with swelling off and on. But it's been reacting well since we took that little break. It hasn't swell up after games, and so that's the major thing, so that's encouraging. The rest is just hard work.''

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With per game averages of 16.2 points and 5.9 rebounds and a shooting percentage of just 43 percent, Nowitzki’s numbers are the lowest they’ve been since his rookie season of 1998-99. Since returning to the lineup against San Antonio on Sunday, Nowitzki is just 11-for-39 (28.2 percent) from the field for 28 points in 38 minutes.

“I think maybe sometimes I'm not confident in the movement,'' Nowitzki said. “I swing the ball and do pick-and-rolls instead of really making a hard move, and when I try to make a hard move it bothers me a little bit. ...

“I think it's going to come eventually,” the 33-year-old forward said. “I can't tell you how long it's going to take, but eventually it's going to come back.''

“At this point we've all got to be patient,'' coach Rick Carlisle said. “The medical aspect to this, I can't speak to. I'm not a doctor.”

Added Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, per ESPN.com, "Every series of slumps, one of them's gotta be the worst. One of them's gotta be bad, so that's what this is. I'm not worried about it at all. He's frustrated. His shot's not going. It's probably in his head some, but (Nowitzki’s mentor Holger Geschwindner) just got to town. They'll work together. I'm not worried about it even a little bit."